Take your sewing skills to new heights with 'Sew Beyond Basics.' Enhance projects from our beginners' course, mastering zips and stabilising fabrics. Join us for creative stitching exploration!
A special 5-day acting course including voice work, movement, improvisation and scene work led by the amazing Stuart Laing – it is designed for beginner-to-intermediate actors who might be considering making the leap into training professionally.
Do you dream of starting a career in art, design or media? Are you interested in doing a creative Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree? Are you curious about studying art at University level but need a bit more experience, a confidence boost or want to immerse yourself in a few new creative techniques before you start your degree? Join us on our free two-week Making Change course. This course has been designed to prepare you to start university, alongside building a portfolio and gaining support for your application. You will get an art school experience, and during the course you will get the chance to meet the lecturers for the subjects you are interested in studying. You will learn how to work with different painting and printing techniques, test your skills as a fine artist, and get hands-on with materials, all while building a portfolio. This course has been designed to support you commencing your Undergraduate or Postgraduate studies with Arts University Plymouth in September 2025 or 2026. “Honestly, I can't believe the course was only three weeks long. The connections we all made were genuine, positive and have created a new opportunity for me that I have been trying to achieve for the past 20 years without success!” MAKING CHANGE STUDENT, MARCH 2022 What will I learn? During the course you will make, discuss and experiment with materials and ideas, whilst preparing for entry onto one of our Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses. You will be supported in making an application, and you will improve your knowledge of the higher education sector. Are you a mature student? Did you know that 31% of students at Arts University Plymouth are mature students? We pride ourselves on being a creative environment for all ages. As well as support in completing your application, you'll be given advice and tips on how to prepare your portfolio, as well as comprehensive student finance advice. Previous graduates of our Making Change courses have gone on to study at degree level on subjects including Fashion, Textiles, Fine Art, Craft and Material Practices and Painting, Drawing & Printmaking, and across our range of postgraduate courses. What are the entry requirements for this course? You don’t need to have a portfolio prepared - you just have to bring your enthusiasm and meet the following criteria: At the start of the course I am between the ages of 18 - 70, I'm eligible to work in the UK (i.e. I have a National Insurance number), I am interested in studying at Arts University Plymouth in September 2025 or 2026. I want to explore higher education opportunities at an undergraduate or postgraduate level, I am eligible for at least two years of student funding or I am looking at self-funding a Higher Education course,* I am able to attend all six sessions (see dates below). *More information on whether you are eligible for financial support can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies. If you are unsure if you are eligible, we can discuss this with you once you have applied. When does this course run? This course takes place on campus at Arts University Plymouth with sessions from 10am to 3:30pm, every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 4th - 13th June 2025.
Developing a network of MHFA Champions is a key step in creating a mentally healthy workplace. The MHFA Champion one-day course will give you all the skills you need to be an MHFA Champion. This one-day course trains you as an MHFA Champion, giving you: An understanding of common mental health issues Knowledge and confidence to advocate for mental health awareness Ability to spot signs of mental ill-health Skills to support positive wellbeing 1 Introduction to MHFA and understanding mental health (3 hours 30 mins) About Mental Health First Aid About mental health and stress in the workplace Stigma and discrimination Depression Anxiety disorders Other mental health issues (eating disorders, self-harm, psychosis) Early warning signs of mental ill-health Alcohol, drugs and mental health 2 MHFA Champion in practice (3 hours 30 mins) Applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan Action 1: Approach the person, assess and assist with any crisis Suicide Action 2: Listen and communicate non-judgementally Action 3: Give support and information Action 4: Encourage the person to get appropriate professional help Action 5: Encourage other supports Recovery Building a mentally healthy workplace Action planning for using MHFA
This workshop-based bite-size will provide space to explore some practical tools and ideas on how to be more resilient when faced with challenging and tough situations. There is an opportunity to do a self assessment and bring it to the day as a means to identify areas to work on and begin to master skills that will enhance resilient thinking. There will be time to explore what resilience is and understand the range of practical tools and techniques available that can be used beyond the workshop itself. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Discuss and evaluate their personal strengths and areas for development in being more resilient at work Understand what resilience involves and how to identify and challenge their own beliefs that undermine resilience Understand the four aspects of resilience - confidence, adaptability, building support and maintaining a clear perspective Understand how to use resiliency tools to help to cope better with the challenge of change Review and evaluate their learning and have an action plan to take back and implement in the workplace 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Identifying current challenges in relation to work How we handle these challenges 3 Defining resilience and how and why it helps our personal effectiveness and thinking 4 Resilience skills and how to develop them 5 Learning a resilience tool that promotes new ways of thinking / working 6 Review and evaluation of learning Action planning
DATE: 20th March TIME: 4pm LOCATION: Studio A Central Film School are delighted to invite Alexis Watkins to speak to our student body about the importance of mental wellbeing and the keys to mental safeguarding for both yourself and other students. Alexis has professional experience in the following roles: - Mental Health Practitioner & Data Analyst for BWW Mind - Chair of Central & North West London (CNWL) NHS Mental Health Ambassador Group - Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the WïSH Centre - National Lived Experience Partner for NHS England She has filmed with the CNWL and was recently part of a team nominated at the Health Service Journal awards for Reducing Healthcare Inequalities for Children and Young People award. She has also been a guest-speaker at The Listening Place, a charity focused on helping those with suicidal thoughts. She will be joining us to specifically discuss topics of isolation, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Even if you are fortunate enough not to be struggling with your mental health currently, it is always worth being aware of the signs and knowing how to help others, so please consider coming along to this event if you feel comfortable doing so.
DATE: 25th January TIME: 4pm LOCATION: Studio A Central Film School are delighted to invite Alexis Watkins to speak to our student body about the importance of mental wellbeing and the keys to mental safeguarding for both yourself and other students. Alexis has professional experience in the following roles: - Mental Health Practitioner & Data Analyst for BWW Mind - Chair of Central & North West London (CNWL) NHS Mental Health Ambassador Group - Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the WïSH Centre - National Lived Experience Partner for NHS England She has filmed with the CNWL and was recently part of a team nominated at the Health Service Journal awards for Reducing Healthcare Inequalities for Children and Young People award. She has also been a guest-speaker at The Listening Place, a charity focused on helping those with suicidal thoughts. She will be joining us to specifically discuss topics of isolation, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Even if you are fortunate enough not to be struggling with your mental health currently, it is always worth being aware of the signs and knowing how to help others, so please consider coming along to this event if you feel comfortable doing so.
We all tend to have challenges throughout our lives that cause varying levels of pressure. It is healthy and essential that people experience such challenges because up to a certain point an increase in pressure improves performance and quality of life. Too much pressure can be harmful and affect our health and wellbeing. This participative half-day workshop will explore the causes and impact of stress and provide an opportunity to learn some new ideas and techniques to cope with it. Practical tasks and exercises will be used to promote discussion and participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences and approaches. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Understand the causes and symptoms of stress and how to spot them Become more aware of personal habitual behaviours and approaches that get in the way of dealing with stress productively Learn ideas and approaches that help you to cope with the thoughts, emotions and physical feelings that happen in stressful and difficult situations Review and evaluate learning and have an action plan to take back and put into practice at work 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Stress Its sources and effects on you Defining stress, its signs and symptoms 3 Exploring your 'default' habits Their consequences in stressful situations 4 Dealing with perception Strategies and approaches for coping with stress 5 Setting goals with positive outcomes Review and evaluation of learning Action planning
If you are a Mental Health First Aider or MHFA Champion you have skills for life that support you and the people around you. We believe that mental health should be treated equally to physical health - and just like physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid training should be kept up to date. The four-hour MHFA Refresher course will empower you to: Keep your awareness of mental health supports current Update your knowledge of mental health and what influences it Practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan Outline About mental health Stress and factors that influence mental health Mental health continuum and stigma Frame of reference and non-judgement Reintroducing ALGEE Warning signs of mental ill-health Depression and anxiety Suicide and first aid for suicidal crisis Psychosis and first aid for severe psychotic episodes Practising our MHFA sills Self-care, wellbeing and recovery